Ruth Michels, CEO and chairman of the board of Michels Corporation, was awarded the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Construction Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Friday, April 25 at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.

Michels Corporation is one of the largest and most diversified utility contractors in North America, 36th on Engineering News-Record’s 2013 list of the top 400 Contractors in the United States.

The award recognizes people who have made a mark on the construction and engineering fields. Honorees are chosen by UW professors, students and industry representatives.

The construction industry has been a lifelong love, Ruth Michels said, and she will extend the company’s commitment to its future.

“In coming years, Michels Corporation intends to raise its visibility and participation in the University of Wisconsin Construction Club,” Ruth Michels said. “I am very much looking forward to this initiative and will personally look for opportunities to support the club in the future.”

Ruth Michels and her late husband, Dale, along with two business partners, founded Michels Pipeline in 1959. About 30 years later, Ruth and Dale Michels bought out their partners to become a single-family owned and operated business. Michels has grown to include 6,000 employees, 10,000 pieces of heavy equipment and 14 divisions in the United States and Canada.

In addition to leading the business, Ruth Michels oversees the Dale & Ruth Michels Family Foundation, a charitable organization that has given millions of dollars to educational institutions, medical facilities and community organizations. She was the first woman to receive an honorary membership to the Distribution Contractors Association and also received the Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund Women of Achievement Award.